In the process of shipping an item from one location to another, a protective packaging material is typically placed in a shipping container to fill any voids and/or to cushion the item during the shipping process. Some commonly used protective packaging materials are plastic foam peanuts and plastic bubble pack. While these conventional plastic materials seem to perform adequately as cushioning products, they are not without disadvantages. Perhaps the most serious drawback of plastic bubble wrap and/or plastic foam peanuts is their effect on our environment. Quite simply, these plastic packaging materials are not biodegradable and thus they cannot avoid further multiplying our planet's already critical waste disposal problems. The non-biodegradability of these packaging materials has become increasingly important in light of many industries adopting more progressive policies in terms of environmental responsibility.
The foregoing and other disadvantages of conventional plastic packaging materials have made paper protective packaging material a very popular alternative. Paper is biodegradable, recyclable and composed of a renewable resource; making it an environmentally responsible choice for conscientious companies.
While paper in sheet form could possibly be used as a protective packaging material, it is usually preferable to convert the sheets of paper into a relatively low density pad-like cushioning dunnage product. This conversion may be accomplished by a cushioning conversion machine, such as that disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,889. The therein disclosed cushioning conversion machine converts sheet-like stock material, such as paper in multi-ply form, into relatively low density pads. Specifically, the machine converts this stock material into a continuous unconnected strip having lateral pillow-like portions separated by a thin central band. This strip is coined along its central band to form a connected strip which is divided, as by cutting, into sections, or pads, of a desired length. The stock material preferably consists of three superimposed plies or layers of biodegradable, recyclable and reusable thirty-pound Kraft paper rolled onto a hollow cylindrical tube. A thirty-inch wide roll of this paper, which is approximately 450 feet long, will weigh about 35 pounds and will provide cushioning equal to approximately four fifteen cubic foot bags of plastic foam peanuts while at the same time requiring less than one-thirtieth the storage space.
The cushioning conversion machine disclosed in the above-identified patent includes a stock supply assembly, a forming assembly (also referred to as a former assembly or more simply a former), a feeding/connecting assembly and a cutting or severing assembly. The cushioning conversion machine further includes electrical circuitry which electrically controls the feeding/connecting assembly and the cutting assembly.
In preparation for operation of the machine, the machine is loaded with stock material. Stock material, in particular multi-ply (usually three ply) Kraft paper in roll form, is placed on a roll holder or cart for feeding into the machine. The stock material is threaded through the forming assembly, typically by folding the leading end portion of the stock material in a triangular-like fashion and manually pushing this leading end portion through the forming assembly (e.g., a forming frame and a converging chute) so that the "point" of the triangle is positioned for engagement by the feed/connecting assembly. During the threading procedure, a top cover of the machine frame is pivoted about a hinge or otherwise opened to allow access to the forming assembly for loading the paper into the machine.
Sometimes, the conversion machine is mounted such that the top cover is not readily accessible. Under these circumstances the loading operation described above may be difficult as access to the forming assembly is limited. Therefore, it would be advantageous to be able to load the machine without having access to the top cover such that the stock material can be loaded without having to manually thread the stock material through the forming assembly.